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User talk:Albatrossix
Putting my thoughts on 'categories' here. First: how to 'neatly use categories': Categories are easy to make, and it's easy to add a tag specifing in what category an article belongs to. However, deleting categories, means a administrator needs to flush the cache (of wiki). More importantly, since 'the existance' of a category, makes it visible what articles point to that category, you need to edit all the articles and sub-categories FIRST, then delete the category. Moving a category is the same: you first need to edit all the articles, refering them to the new category, THEN move (or copy & delete) the category to be moved. This way you can use the old category to check if any articles still point to it, then when no articles point to it, (move and) delete it (or ask for deletion). Suggestion for a Category structure: I've looked at the 'Freeciv'-article, and it's 'navigation'. It seems that if categories are to be really usefull, all must function with categories: There are currently 4 main headings (that do not point to every concievable article with links, at the moment, I think -- ie there are articles that 'fall outside the system'). These could become 4 categories, containing a new template (with the sub headings for that category), to be used to make the Freeciv page look the same, yet be 'categorised'. (so it will say: Heading, insert template (from category) etc...) (this is a bit to complicated to explain in further detail here.) Additionally, there's the News section, the 'flash info' section, and 2 images, as well as the bar at the bottom. (is it a frame? is it part of the wiki? Maybe the bottom bar isn't relevant). News is a category. Flash info is an article belonging in this page (template?), that is then part of the News category (they are both sort of 'news'). So basically, that's just the News category to add. (it all goes in there, keeping the structure simple) Finally there's the language bar (template). This would be part of the 'Translation' category. ie, the category that contains this template, the about template, and categories for each seperate language. (more on this later) The images already have a 'browse' special function. (2 of them one by submission, one with pictures). So that's fine. (I think). All these categories are located in the category Main or Main Page (or something like that.) Thus If you would want to browse through the site, you would start with all the categories are accessible through the main 'Freeciv' page. (I think this is just dandy) The most basic (essential) categories: Main (the main category, containing the 'Freeciv' article, and all the other categories (thus all categories are categorised (ie, part of a 'browsing' structure. This category points you to everything. (and can be used as a low-tech version of the main page (ie only the links, no brable)) (I'm a great fan of this one.) NEWS (the news category, with all news, and news templates, as well as cross-reference sub-categories to the news in each language (ie: Fr:NEWS, De:NEWS, etc...(this for easy reference when you need to find something to update (and you specifically want to update NEWS for example.)) Translations (This category cointains categories for each language, grouping all these articles by kind. (Deutsche Categorieen, Categories Francaises (but then with accents and stuff (or a more uniform naming))-- (This, specifically, is the reason for many cross-references, used when wanting to see what a page looks like in another language, without having to walk down the tree a whole end, then climb another branch for a long way, rather the cross-references allow you to 'jump like a monkey' (I hope my jungle/trees annolgy is clear ))) And then things get 'fuzzy'. (and not in the warm kind of way): Currently the headings used are: Getting Started (I think that's 'correct' english for Get Started (that's too much of a command, not a suggestion)) Freeciv Help (specify it's about freeciv, make it look concurrent with the rest.) Freeciv Development (or Game Development as the heading is now) Freeciv Online (online game playing, or online gaming (shorter)) Of course this system isn't perfect (as was noted). So a complete rethink? Here goes:( '->' indicates a name change): Category:Introduction (alterive names suggested: Newcomers/Getting Started) (Sub-category of Main) Represented in the main page with the heading Introduction, and subheadings linking directly to the articles themselves. (Optional idea (forget it)) Make a 'welcome' page (welcome to freeciv, thanks bla bla, and now bla bla.. etc..) (this is a split up of the about page into 'version info' and 'Welcome text') Article:'About' -> 'About Freeciv' Article:'Screenshots' Article:'Download' Article:'Installation Manual' -> to be put in 'Category:Documentation' (with a link in the download article, it would be more logical) Category:Documentation (Alternative names: Information, (Have the 'about'-template in the text part of this category (and the language bar)) Contains a template to put under heading 'Documentation' on the Main freeciv page. First Line of the template: Link:'Main Web Forum' (currently web forum, but it's vague, considering what the next link is in the main page) Article:'Community Forums' (Web forums, and irc addresses(bit weird that irc channels for forums... should it have a different name?) (when browsing one only finds the main web forum via this article (the link is part of the template)) (This one should have a cross-link in Category:Network, ie be accescable from there (that or it should belong there, but it's also a kind of help, therefore, ambiguous) 2nd Line of the template: Article:'Game Manual' (currently called Docs.(the official manual)) Internal link to 'Summary'-Article: FAQS (For category FAQS, it sums all the faqs up and puts them in a nice table (easy to find what where your question is. Article FAQS is itself part of Category:FAQS, which is a sub-category of Category:Documentation) Article:'Technical Manual' (currennly part of Docs. Or is it FAQ?) Article:'Gamers Notes' (All the advise on how to play, and gamers tips, faq parts. (currently 'hid' among the rest of the help.) (mabye FAQS represented first on the 2nd line) Category:Online or Network (I think online should go before development, as it's closer to beginners than development) Same as the others, the template has the following references: Article: Game Announcements Article: Player Map (should be segmented, using segments to point to bigger maps, if you want to put any greater number of people there. Otherwise, it's really part of 'Game/Freeciv Development'. (look our developpers live here, and here and here...(making it easy for micropose to hunt you down :P ) Article: Metaservers (shoudn't there be an s at the end?) Link: Pubserver Article: Related Links (maybe also part of Documentation?) Category:Freeciv Development (or Game Development / Development or something like it) This is the 'difficult' one. Link:Bug Tracker (fine) Art -> Tilesets? (or Mods instead of Rulesets, and then 'Art' seperate, and Mods having tilesets and rulesets (and a summary page first)) Rulesets Coding -> Current Coding Projects (or (coding) Goals) (links to the article, which could be the text of a Category, containig all current projects/ideas. (most difficult to give a nice name to) Translations -> Translation Projects. Projects and Ports -> 'split it up' -> Ideas (or Future Projects) -> Porting Projects (ports) -> Debatable Projects (ie: other projects/ideas, that don't fit in the other categories (too new, showing an alternate example (Open_GL seems to be something for this category)) (project is used as a 'nice' word for ideas) The main structure is alway to have a category, and a template, and a bulk text. The template is used to refer to the bulk text in intra-category links or link groups. The bulk text is typically the summary page, or the main page for this subject (the one that links to all the other pages). The bulk text can also be a seperate article in the category, where outside links will refer to the bulk text article directly (ie: alternate navigation). In this case the browsing is a seperate funtion (one that should be added in the 'normal' navigation with the option 'Browse' (this category).) This latter idea for bulk text (split up from the category text) is, I think, better. Final note: Categories aren't there to destroy the current structure for navigation, there intended to be an extra 'browse' funtion (one for those who like to keep things minimalistic). This is just the top level. Further sub-categories may be thought off. Current Categories: Category:AI goes in Category:Coding Projects, in Category:Freeciv Development, in Category:Main Category:Events goes there too. Category:NEWS goes in Category:Main Category:Translation goes in Category:Main (and contains Fr:Main or Pages Francaises (depending whether coherent syntax is prefered, or not, over coherent language.) Category:Manuals renamed (according to 'neat' removal/moving method, to Category:Documents, where internal documents will be put in sub documents. (ie: Category:Units goes in Category:Game Manual, in Category:Documents, in Category:Main) Hope it's all clear, understandable, and that you like it. :) --Albatrossix 18:57, 25 May 2005 (PDT)